March 12, 2015

PAAFF Festival Director Rob Buscher hosts FREE Japanese Film series at PMA The Japanese film industry is one of the most prolific and profitable outside of Hollywood, with a rich history spanning over a century within the medium. The look and feel of Japanese cinema is inextricably linked to the cultural beliefs and artistic traditions of Japan, creating an on-screen aesthetic that is uniquely Japanese. PAAFF Festival Director Rob Buscher will introduce selected films that compliment and elucidate themes treated in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibition “Ink and Gold: The Art of the Kano.” Each screening will be followed by a post-film discussion. From Up on Poppy Hill Sunday, March 22nd at 1PM Directed by Goro MIYAZAKI, son of world-renowned animator Hayao MIYAZAKI, this feature length anime is a nostalgic coming-of-age romance about two teens who ban together to save their high school clubhouse from being demolished. Set in mid-1960s Yokohama, this Studio Ghibli film beautifully captures the essence of urban Japan during the postwar reconstruction period while exploring memories of loss and longing in the aftermath of war. The continuity in storytelling and engrossing animation style shared between father and son reflect an interesting parallel with the apprenticeship system of the Kano School. Both screenings are located in the Van Pelt Auditorium Free, but ticket reservations required Museum admission not required to attend this program Get more info on the event and RSVP here. About the Exhibit Ink and Gold: Art of the Kano February 16, 2015 – May 10, 2015 The Kano family’s creative legacy endured for nearly 400 years, forever defining Japanese art. Experience breathtaking Kano masterpieces-the pride of Japan-in this unprecedented exhibition. Only in Philadelphia. Ink and Gold explores the stunning artistry of the esteemed Kano painters, the most enduring and influential school of painting in Japanese history. Established by Kano Masanobu in the late fifteenth century, the lineage created and upheld standards of artistic excellence in Japan for nearly four hundred years. The exhibition presents more than 120 works of art spanning the school’s long and illustrious history with a focus on large-scale, gold leaf folding screens and sliding doors designed for residences of Japan’s ruling elite. This exhibition, which also includes ink paintings, hanging scrolls, and folding fans, is the first outside Japan-and the first anywhere since 1979-to so fully examine the Kano painters’ legacy. View full details here.